Op-Ed: Personal Protection, a Personal Responsibility

By Gerard Valentino

(This commentary has also been published at CNSNews.com)

The fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America brought the horror of that day back into the homes of millions of Americans.

As usual, the establishment media exploited the tragedy to bolster television ratings by bringing every possible so-called expert on the air to discuss how 9/11 changed America. Countless hours were also spent discussing the results of the 9/11 commission and how the government needs to protect us from harm.

It's true that part of the government's job is to protect American interests, but it is simply impossible for the federal government, or local police, to protect individual Americans.

The establishment media experts don't acknowledge that the personal security and safety of each American is each individual's own personal responsibility.

Establishment media safety consultants often ignore that it is up to each American to assure their own security when confronted with crime or the threat or terrorism.

Supreme Court rulings in several cases, most notably, Castle Rock vs. Gonzales, have cemented in the mind of self-defense experts that the government has no constitutional obligation to protect people from harm. The ruling was based on the failure of the police in Castle Rock to adequately enforce a restraining order leading to the kidnapping, and eventual murder, of three young children.

Such a ruling was not precedent setting and instead was well established constitutional law. Yet, most Americans still believe it is their right to be protected by local, state and federal officials. Regardless of the anecdotal and legal proof, that it is simply not the case.

Personal protection is, however, another personal responsibility that the establishment media, and those on the left, want to see given over to the federal government.

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Instead of blaming the criminals or terrorists for committing atrocities, the establishment media and the left place blame on the government -- or even worse, blame inanimate objects, like guns, for the actions of common thugs willing to kill innocent Americans. As if mythical "assault weapons" and "Saturday night specials" have a mind of their own and use mystic powers to turn honest law-abiding citizens into blood-thirsty killers.

Such a notion is equivalent to believing that a hammer can make anyone a carpenter or that baseball bats can use their powers to make me into Hank Aaron.

Liberals and their cronies in the establishment media continue to cast guns in such a light, however, ignoring the absurd nature of their arguments. The same is true for arguments that the government is some sort of all-powerful mother figure tasked with keeping individuals perfectly safe.

At one time, Americans would have been insulted by the insinuation that they could not care for their own welfare. In today's America, nanny-state thinking is so pervasive among some segments of society that it seems plausible to argue that the government, or a gun, is to blame for a person's misfortune. The same segment of society blames poverty when someone turns to a life of crime. Such thinking isn't limited to a single socio-economic group of Americans, as some of the most rabidly anti-gun, nanny-state proponents are among our most wealthy citizens.

People like Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and others of their ilk are always the first to jump on the gun-control bandwagon.
They also are proponents of pushing more failed social programs on the American taxpayer.

Their flawed thinking ignores that the criminal mind is that of a predator who is always searching for his next easy mark. Playing a little basketball or taking part in some other diversionary activity doesn't change their way of thinking. It simply diverts their attention for a short period of time.

Law-abiding citizens often fall into the same trap and project their sense of goodness and well-being onto criminals who are intent on robbing, raping and pillaging. One of the most difficult lessons for most people to learn is that violent criminals lack the conscience and humanity of the rest of the population. Criminals are also cowards in that they will choose the easiest target, if possible, including people in wheelchairs or others with physical limitations.

Learning how the criminal mind works goes a long way in forcing people to accept that their own personal safety requires taking personal responsibility for protecting their family during times of disaster or criminal attack.

The establishment media, however, does its best to keep people from understanding just how valuable personal initiative is when it comes to dealing with disaster. Instead of portraying the armed residents of New Orleans that banded together to protect their property as having handled the disaster correctly they gave the implication that the defenders should have simply allowed the police worry about protection.

Instead, the establishment media downplays the actions of residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who prepared for disaster by not only arming themselves but accounting for their own food, water and using a generator for electricity.

The actions of the prepared survivors of Katrina were a living example of making personal safety a personal responsibility. Hopefully, the entire country learned from seeing the difference in the outcome for people that stood around waiting for the government to save them, and those who cared for themselves.

When the establishment media ignores the different outcomes they assure more human tragedy in future to keep ratings high and Americans under the poor assumption that everyone would become a victim under such circumstances.

Gerard Valentino is the Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio Chair.